Sermon 3100. Homage Offered to the Great King
(No. 3100)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1908.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT NEW PARK STREET CHAPEL, SOUTHWARK.
"And He shall live, and to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba; prayer also shall be made for Him continually; and dailyshall He be praised." Psalm 72:15.
[Another Sermon by Mr. Spurgeon upon the same verse is #717, Volume 12-PRAY FOR JESUS]
I BELIEVE we must refer the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy to the times of the latter-day Glory when Jesus Christ shallagain appear upon the earth. Then "He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth."Then "they that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him; and His enemies shall lick the dust." It has been a great questionas to whether Jesus Christ is to come again in Person or by His Spirit. Many passages of Scripture seem to point to His actualand Personal coming and, somehow or other, it does delight my soul to anticipate that Christ may yet come to the scene ofHis former battles and make it the scene of His future triumphs. I am rejoiced to think that His head, once crowned with thornson earth, may on earth itself wear a crown of Glory and that His feet that were once wearied in His pilgrimage here with theflinty stones of Jerusalem may yet "stand on the Mount of Olives," while He ushers in "the day of the Lord in the valley ofdecision." And that His shoulders which once wore the purple robe in mockery may yet be visibly clothed with the royal attireof universal empire when "the Lord shall be King over all the earth."
I am somewhat confirmed in this conviction by the words of the text, "And He shall live." It does strike me that such a prophecyas that would not be necessary concerning Jesus Christ, either as God or Man, if it were not that He is again to visit theearth. It is quite certain that, as God, "He shall live," for God over all, blessed forever, only has in Himself immortalityand it is quite impossible that the Godhead should ever expire while, as Man, Jesus Christ must live, for when the just areraised, they die no more, but have life eternal-and when they ascend up into Heaven, as Jesus has done, they have a life thatGod confers upon them which becomes as immortal as the very life of Deity itself! So that it does appear to me that neitherin respect to His Manhood or His Godhead, would it have been necessary to say, "He shall live," unless we are to understandit in the same sense that we should read it if it was written of His first coming-He shall live as the God-Man. He shall liveon earth as other men do. He shall live here below. And I do think that no exegesis can fully explain the passage unless weinterpret it as to His actually living, residing here as very Man upon the earth once more.
Be that as it may, the text, we trust, has a fulfillment in your ears this night and has been, in a certain manner, fulfilledever since the time when it was written, "to Him," to Christ Jesus, there is "given of the gold of Sheba." To Him prayer isalso made and to Him praise continually ascends. Here are three things which are, throughout all time, even till the dawningof eternity, always to be bestowed on Christ! The first is the gift of property-the gold of Sheba. The second is the giftof prayer and the third is the gift of praise.
I. To commence with the first, I shall be allowed here to make some remarks with reference to THE PECUNIARY MATTERS OF THECHRISTIAN CHURCH because no man on earth will ever suspect me of making any personal allusion either to my own Church or congregation,or with regard to myself or any institution connected with this place of worship. In nothing have I to find fault with myChurch and people! Let it go forth to Christendom at large that in their collections and contributions to the cause of God,they stand second to no Church beneath the blue sky. I have simply to tell them that such-and-such a thing is needed for sacredpurposes-and forth comes their money. It is always
bestowed at the time it is required and, therefore, it cannot be suspected that in anything I say, there is the least allusionto them, except it be to their honor.
It is written that "to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba." I think that this ought continually to be impressed uponthe minds of all Christians. Since Jesus Christ is the Son of God and their Savior, and has given Himself for them, they arenot their own, but are bought with a price. Their possessions as well as themselves are the absolute property of their Redeemer!They have, in fact, nothing whatever in their own private right. They have made over themselves to the Lord Jesus, to haveand to hold them through life and even till death and forever and ever. They are not to call their own their purse, theirlands, their houses, nor anything that they have-but to give up everything to their Lord. From the moment when He Himselfcomes to them and unfolds their interest in His Covenant, they are henceforth to consider themselves as His servants, as Hischildren, "having nothing, yet possessing all things," because they have all things in Christ.
Were this well considered, my Friends, how much greater liberality should we find among Christians, especially in the supportof Gospel ministers? When God sends an ambassador into the world, wherever He sends him, the people are bound to receive himin some kind of honor and respect. Jehovah Himself has said that the mouth of the ox that treads out the corn is by no meansto be muzzled. But it is the disgrace of our denomination, as well as of many others, that not a few of the best of God'sservants are toiling weekday after weekday and Sabbath after Sabbath upon a miserable pittance scarcely sufficient to maintainthe family of a day-laborer! I thought, the other day, when reading Martin Luther's "Table Talk," that it was rather too badfor him to say what he did, but since then I have myself felt similar indignation when I have thought upon this subject. Hesaid, "If I were God, and the world were to behave so wickedly to me as it does to Him, I would kick it all to atoms." I thoughtit was a dreadful thing to say, but I have myself been almost inclined to say that had I been the everlasting God and sentambassadors down from Heaven, and had they been treated as they are now, I would have called every one of them back straightwayand would have said, "Is that the way you despise My sent servants? Will you show them no honor? Will you do them despiteas you have always done?" Yes, I thought, I would call them back, revoke their charters and say, "Henceforth I will send nomore ambassadors." But, Beloved, ambassadors are not thus received by you and they ought not to be anywhere! God's servantsshould have what they require and it should always be said, "Christ lives, and to Him in the person of His ministers-is alwaysgiven of the gold of Sheba."
It is a terrible thought to me that although God's Word says, "Owe no man anything," yet that the Church should be more indebt than any corporation in England! I do not think that the debts of all the people put together would equal the debts ofprofessing Christians-debts which they have entered into often on account of religion. I would stand fast by the practiceof owing no man anything and if I did not see the means of doing anything for my God, I would stop till I did. "Owe no mananything," is a Christian principle, and one that we are bound most decidedly and continually to observe. Therefore shouldthe Churches be in debt? Why should there not be money to send forth missionaries abroad? It is just this-there is not enoughof the love of Christ in the Church and there is not enough of preaching Christ- otherwise there would be more of Christiangiving! Where Christ is exalted, there will be a willing, generous people.
I do not believe it is so much the fault of Christians that they have not given more to the cause of God, as it has been thefault of ministers that they have not more fully preached Jesus Christ. They have not extolled His name. They have kept backHis Doctrines and put them in the background. This is why God has allowed His Church to become poor and suffered her fundsto dwindle down. And it serves her right, for if she does not love her Husband, she ought to be poor! And if she does notextol Jesus, there ought to be no funds! But can you find a Christ-exalting people, among whom the Gospel is preached in allits fullness, whose necessities God does not supply? There may indeed be some cases where it is so, when God tries them fortheir good. But I believe, as a rule, that once let our pulpits have the clear Gospel sound in them. Once let the good oldDoctrines of the Puritans come forth. Once let the Gospel be preached in all its fullness- none of your shams, for we haveabundance of them-but the blessed Gospel of Christ! Once let this fidelity prevail and God will provide the funds, God willopen the hearts of the people to pour the money into your coffers. The silver and the gold are His and the cattle on a thousandhills-and it is the fault of the Church herself that she has become poor! When God restores to her the language of Canaan.When Christ is exalted in His people's hearts and they can hear the sweet and savory notes of Jesus Christ preached, thenthey will say, "Can we refuse to do anything for such a Gospel as
this?" Half-hearted preachers beget half-hearted professors! A lukewarm Gospel has made people's hearts lukewarm! We musthave a reform-a lasting reform by the help of God's Spirit-otherwise, who knows whereunto this bankruptcy of Christendom shalltend? And who can tell what shall eventually become of the Church? Once let Jesus be preached thoroughly, here, there andeverywhere, and then "to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba," and as much as ever His Church shall need shall be continuallyoffered as a willing tribute!
Thus much, then, about money have I felt constrained to say, for I do believe that many of my Brothers are half ashamed tospeak out about the temporal claims of religion. For myself, I always deem it one of the noblest things we can do to giveto the cause of God. Everyone knows what value we attach even to some little flower given by the hand of a friend, and Godloves the little gifts of His people. As one of our old divines says, "It is not the value of the gift so much as the intentionof the giver that is prized. For we should keep an old cracked sixpence if given to us by a friend-not because we think muchof the sixpence-that, perhaps, we would scarcely have stooped to pick up-but because a friend has given it to us and for hissake we never spend it or give it away." So the little that we give to God is of great esteem in His sight. Every little giftwe give to Him is remembered and at last He will take us and say, "My child, on such-and-such a day you gave Me this." "Why,Lord, I scarcely thought of it! I found such a cause requiring help, and I assisted it." "Ah, My child! Here is your gift-Ihave stored it up here to show to you when you came to Me. Have I forgotten your little acts of affection? No, I have storedthem up in the cabinet of My memory-they are tokens of your love to Me, even as you have had numberless tokens of My loveto you." But what few memorials of your love some of you will have to look upon when you get there! You only give a triflenow and then-that is all. God grant that you may have the heart to give unto Jesus "of the gold of Sheba" in far greater abundance!
II. Then comes the second offering. The gold first, and THE PRAYER afterwards-not because the gold is the more valuable, butbecause, in some respects, gold, when it is given with a true heart, is the better test.
"Prayer also shall be made for Him continually." Notice those words again, "Prayer also shall be made for Him." Now we allknow that prayer is continually made unto Jesus Christ. We are accustomed to address the Second Person of the Trinity as Godin the form of prayer and, more frequently, prayer is made through Him when we address the First Person of the united Godheadthrough the mediation of the Son. But the Psalmist says, "Prayer also shall be made for Him." We can understand how JesusChrist should pray for us but, at first, it does seem to stagger us that we should be allowed to pray forHim. That He shouldbe our Intercessor, that He should bend His knees on our behalf and point to our names engraved on His breastplate is a Truthof God so frequently mentioned in Scripture that we receive it unhesitatingly. But for us to become intercessors forChrist,to bind the breastplate on our breast, to wave the censer on His behalf, to plead for Him, pray for Him and beg for Him-thisdoes somewhat astonish us! And yet our surprise is due rather to the expression than the fact, for it is a thing we are doingevery day. Prayer is made for Christ continually.
Let me tell you that you virtually pray for Christ, Beloved, whenever you pray for one of His people. Will you understandme if I say that Jesus Christ has gone through a great many editions? Every one of the Lord's people is but another copy oftheir blessed Master. They are, as it were, particles of Christ beaten out into humanity again-pieces of that mighty wedgeof gold beaten out into plate afterwards. They are partakers of Christ's Nature, they are part of His fullness. And wheneverwe do a kindness to one of them, we do it unto Him. Whenever we pray for one of His servants, we pray for Christ! You prayedfor that poor miserable looking penitent who was afraid to call himself a Christian, though he was so in deed and in truth.Do you know that you then prayed for Christ? You interceded for that simple-minded woman who did not know the way to Heavenand who asked you to put up a prayer to God that she might be taught. Do you know that you then prayed for Christ, for shewas part of His flesh and blood and was afterwards brought into His family. Do you know that whenever you put up a petition,even for the weakest and most despised of His little ones, you are praying for Him? What a physician does to the remotestmember of my body, is done to the entire frame. Whatever is done to any part of my flesh is done to myself. And when we prayfor Christ's people, the members of His body, we are really praying for Christ.
We pray for Christ, also, when we pray for the spread of the Gospel and for the increase of His Kingdom. When we implore ofGod, at our Missionary Prayer Meetings, that all His mighty promises may be fulfilled-that the people may fall under Him aswilling captives-that the idols may be hurled from their thrones-that the Mother of harlots and abominations may receive hersudden doom and the merchandise of her seven-hilled city cease forever-that
Mohammedanism and all false superstitions may be overturned-when we pray in the simple words which our Savior taught us, "YourKingdom come. Your will be done, in earth, as it is in Heaven"-then we are praying for Christ in full sympathy with all saints,by whom prayer is made for Him continually! And, best of all, when we bend our knees and cry out for His Second Coming-whenwe beg of Him to cleave the skies and come to Judgment-or when, with other and more literal expectations, we ask Him to comeand reign upon the earth and make His people kings and princes unto Him-when we ask the Ancient of Days to come and reigngloriously on earth with His ancients, then we are praying for Christ!
We ought to do so. Recollect, O Christian, in your prayers, whatever you forget, always to pray for your Redeemer! It is yourprivilege to have your name written in the list of those for whom He pleads and it is your honor to be allowed to plead forHim. Stop a moment-a worm pleading for God? The finite asking a blessing on the head of the Infinite? Less than nothing beggingthat the Eternal All may be blessed? Oh, were it not told you in Scripture, it would be blasphemy to attempt it! You may prayto Him with the most dread and solemn awe-and you may prostrate yourself at His feet. But to pray for Him, to beg on His behalf,how amazing this seems! For Jesus to take your petition to His Father gives a glory and a dignity to your very poorest prayer-butfor you to turn petitioner to the King of kings on behalf of His own Son-do you not admire the condescension that permitsthat? I think I see you coming, poor, weak, helpless one, and God says, "For whom do you plead?" You say, "I plead for Jesus.""What? You, a poor beggar? What? You, full of sin, littleness, nothingness-do you plead for My eternal Son? Are you makingsupplication for Him?" Do you not, yourself, think it amazing that you should be allowed to ask for a blessing on His head?Yes, then never slight this privilege! Never forget it-with your prayer, continually mingle His name.
III. Now comes the last point and here we must be somewhat longer, for we shall have, we hope, more thoughts- "Daily shallHe be PRAISED." Jesus is not only continually to have gold and prayer, but He is to have daily praise ascribed to Him. Letme go over the list of things which prove that Jesus Christ shall daily be praised.
First, I think, Jesus daily shall be praised as long as there is a Christian ministry. There have been professed ministerswho have never exalted Christ at all. There have been some who took upon themselves the office for a morsel of bread, notbeing called by God-but has there ever been a time when there have not been faithful men of God? Has there ever been a seasonwhen God has not sent His Prophets throughout the land to speak in living words, from burning hearts and fervid souls, thevery Word of God? No and there never shall be! If God should now put out those lights that shine in London or elsewhere-ifHe were now to say to the Churches, "Your candlesticks shall be removed out of their places, I will take those ministers away,"by tomorrow He would send others! And if the enemy should come and cut off the heads of all those who now speak God's Word,would that be able to stop the perpetual thunders of the Gospel? No, for God would tomorrow find men who should rise up andeven in the palaces of kings should yet dare to speak the name of God!
Men have thought they could put down the Gospel. They have used the rack and brought forth the stake, but what have they accomplished?They have but spread it more! All they have ever done to stop that mighty stream and bank it up has failed. It has retardedit a little while till, with overwhelming might, the stream has swept away the rock, dashed down the hillside and carriedeverything before it! They have attempted to amalgamate the Gospel with free will, carnal reason, natural philosophy and such-likedoctrines of men, which would, if it were possible, frustrate the counsels of God. They have spoken ill of the Gospel, theyhave given hard names to those who preach it-but have they been able to stop it, or shall they? No, never, while there isa God, He shall have His Calvins and His Luthers! He shall have His Gills and His Scotts, He shall have His devoted servantswho are not ashamed or afraid of the Gospel of Christ! There never shall come a day when the Church shall be bereft of mightychampions for the Truth, who shun not to declare the whole counsel of God, but continually, to the latest period of time,men shall be raised up to preach Free Grace in all its Sovereignty, in all its Omnipotence, in all its perseverance, in allits Immutability! Until the sun grows dim with age and the comets cease their mighty revolutions-till all nature does quakeand totter with old age and, palsied with disease, does die away-the voice of the ministry must and shall be heard, "and dailyshall He be praised."
Men cannot put out the light of Christianity! The pulpit is still the Thermopylae of Christendom and if there were but twogodly ministers, they would stand in the pass and repulse a thousand, yes, ten thousand! All the hosts of mankind shall nevervanquish the feeble band of Christ's followers, while He sends forth His ministers. On this we rely as a sure
word of prophecy, "Your teachers shall not be removed into a corner anymore." And we believe that, by this ministry, Christshall be praised daily!
But suppose the pulpit were to fail? We still have other means whereby Jesus Christ's name would still be praised. The ordinancesthat He has instituted will always continue to perpetuate His praise. There are two Scriptural ordinances, in both of whichJesus Christ is very much praised. There is, first, that holy ordinance of Believers' Baptism in which Jesus Christ is muchhonored, for it has a special relation to Him. "Know you not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptizedinto His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead bythe Glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." When you descend into the pool at Baptism, you hearthese sacred words pronounced, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." And you areespecially reminded there that unless you have believed in Jesus with all your heart, you have no right to this sacred avowalof fellowship with Christ, but are sinning against God in so doing. The Scriptures have taught us that whoever dares to administerthat ordinance to any but those who believe with their heart and profess with their mouth, dares to touch with sacrilegioushands, God's own institution, and is guilty of breaking down the hedges of the Church and throwing open to the world thatwhich was never intended but for the Lord's own family! We solemnly admonish you to have an eye to Jesus Christ in that blessedordinance! We bid you, before you come, to examine yourselves whether you are in the faith. And when you are there, we remindyou that afterwards you are bound to live unto Christ-you have now passed the Rubicon of life-you have now come on the otherside of the flood that divides the world from the Church! You have now, as it were, taken the veil and renounced the world-youare dead with Christ, you have been buried with Him by Baptism into death. By that very ordinance you honor the name of theSavior-and while that ordinance lasts, Jesus Christ shall be praised!
Nor less at the blessed Supper of the Lord shall the name of Jesus be praised. I think the moments we are nearest to Heavenare those we spend at the Lord's Table. I have sometimes looked at your faces, my Brothers and Sisters, at the Lord's Table,and if anyone wanted to see men's faces when they looked as if angels themselves were smiling in their eyes, such have yourfaces been when I have broken the bread and the wine has been passed to you! When those morsels have been in our lips, simpleas the sign was-and when we have drunk the wine, simple and unceremonious as the whole affair was-what a sweet and holy influenceit has had upon our hearts and how we did feel that we could praise God! I have thought, sometimes, that I could almost haveleaped from the Table and have said, "Oh, let us praise the glorious Redeemer!" When we have seen Him on the Cross and beheldHim as our Substitute, we have felt our hearts were burning hot, that they could scarcely be held within our bodies and wewanted all to rise up and sing-
"All hail the power of Jesus' name! Let angels prostrate fall- Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of All!" Evenif the pulpit is gone, there still remain these two ordinances in each of which Jesus Christ "shall be praised."
But suppose that these were to cease? Suppose it possible that we could not meet together in our public assemblies to celebratethese sweet memorials, or to hear the Word of God? Yet there is another opportunity for praising God-there is the family ofChristians-and while there is a family on earth where Christ's name is named, it shall be daily praised. I trust there isno Christian here who has a house without a family altar. If I came into your house and heard that you had no fireplace inthe winter time, I would certainly advise you to build one. And if I heard that any of you had not a family altar, I wouldsay, "Go home and lay the first brick tonight-it will be a good thing if you do so, I am sure." We had some beautiful instances,last night, at our Church Meeting, of young persons who, even though their parents were not godly, boldly started family prayerin the house. And we heard, in many cases, that the parents felt that they had no objection, and never wished to have it stopped!After they have once had the incense smoking in their house, they do not want to have it put out. My Brothers and Sisters,I cannot make out how you Christians live who have not family prayer in your houses! When I step into a Christian's housein the morning and we have a passage of Scripture, and a little prayer to God, it seems to put the heart and mouth into playfor the whole day-there is nothing like it! And when we sit and talk of what Jesus said and did, and suffered for us herebelow, as old Dyer says, it is like locking the heart up by
prayer in the morning and bolting the devil out! We cannot get on half as well when we have not had that prayer in the morning.
And then, how do you get through at night? I do not understand at all how you professing Christians can get through the daywithout prayer and have no family prayer at night. I would feel like the good man who stopped at an inn and when he heardthere was no family prayer, said, "Get my horses out! I can't stay in a house where there is no family prayer!" It does seemto me terrible that you should go on without prayer, that there should be no morning and evening sacrifice. I cannot makeout how you live without it. I could not. I cannot understand how your piety gets on, nor what it feeds upon. I think whereverthere is a Christian family, there should be daily praise in it. And mark this and solemnly hear me tonight-I do not speakunadvisedly with my lips-you will find that where sons and daughters have turned out a curse to their parents, when they havebeen a shame and disgrace to their parents and those parents have been Christians, it might have been set down to this-thatwhile the parents have been Christians, they were not Christians at home! They had not family prayer, they never reared afamily altar. I believe nine out of ten of such cases can be explained in that way without in the least touching the text,"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Well, supposing we had no family prayer. Suppose we had no ordinances in the house and the altar did not smoke there? Yetdaily should Jesus Christ be praised, for still there would be our own hearts and we could praise Christ there. If they putus in prison and we could not speak to one another, we could still praise Him! Or if our tongues were dumb, there is a languageof the heart which can be heard in Heaven. With stammering words, or with actions which speak louder than words, our heartsshall always praise Him! Beloved Brothers and Sisters, do you think you will ever have done praising Christ as long as youare alive? I knew a woman who said to me, "Sir, if Jesus Christ does save me, He shall never hear the last of it." I thoughtit was a good saying. And shall He ever hear the last of it from you, Beloved? The last of it? Never! When we lie dying, thelast word we give Him on earth shall be praise-and the first word we begin in Heaven shall be instinct with praise. And whileeternity lasts and immortality endures, we will ascribe praise, honor and blessing to Him forever! Can we who are pardonedrebels, liberated slaves-can we whose souls are quickened from the dead by His Spirit, whose sins are washed away by His preciousblood-can we ever cease to praise Him? No! Surely the very stones would speak if our lips were silent, or our hearts refusedto pay Him grateful homage! Daily, daily, daily, "Daily shall He be praised."-
"I'll praise Him while He lends me breath, And when my voice is lost in death, Praise shall employ my noblerpowers! My daysof praise shall never be past, While life, and thought, and being last, Or immortality endures."
But, then, supposing the innumerable company of His redeemed could perish and their immortality were swallowed up in death,yet even then, Christ would be praised daily! If all of us had departed from the boundless sphere of being, look up yonderand see the mighty cohorts of cherubs and seraphs. Let men be gone and they shall praise Him! Let the troops of the glorifiedcease their notes and let no sweet melodies ever come from the lips of sainted men and women-yet the chariots of God are twentythousand, even thousands of angels, who always chant His praise! There is an orchestra on high, the music of which shall nevercease, even were mortals extinct and all the human race swept from existence-
"Immortal angels, bright and fair,
In countless armies shine!
At His right hand, with golden harps,
They offer songs Divine!"
Again, if angels were departed, still daily would He be praised, for are there not worlds on worlds, and systems on systemsthat could forever sing His praise?Yes! The ocean-that place of storms-would beat to His Glory! The winds would swell thenotes of His praise with their ceaseless gales! The thunders would roll like drums in the march of the God of armies! Theillimitable void of ether would become vocal with song and space itself would burst forth into one universal chorus, "Hallelujah!Hallelujah! Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!" And if these were gone- if creatures ceased to exist, He whoalways lives and reigns, in whom all the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwelt, would
still be praised! Praised in Himself and glorious in Himself the Father would praise the Son and the Spirit would praise Himand, mutually blessing One Another, and rendering each Other beatified, still daily would He be praised!
Now, dear Friends, I am conscious that I have not been able to enter into this mighty subject, but here are three things whichwe, as Christians, are bound to give to Christ-the gold of Sheba, our prayers and our praises. It is for us to see what wehave given to Him. I wish we could keep a little book to see what our gifts to Jesus Christ come to in a year. I am afraid,dearly Beloved, that with some of you it would be a very miserable amount. I would lend you a small piece of paper out ofmy waistcoat pocket to put it down on-and there would be room enough. But it is not so with some of you, I know. You oftenpray for Christ, you often praise Him and you are often ready to give Him "of the gold of Sheba." That is well, but let metell you this one thing-there are none of you who need be afraid of praising Jesus Christ too much! We do sometimes praisemen too much-we say so much in their favor, so much in their praise and then, afterwards, we find out they never deservedit. But I will be bondsman for my blessed Master tonight that you will never praise Him more than He deserves! If you liketo speak of Him in the most unmeasured phrases. If you borrow all the tongues of men and angels and talk about Him forever.If you praise Him and call Him God. If you call Him the most perfect of men, if you style Him, The Wonderful, The Counselor,The Mighty God-you will never say too much of Him!
So, Christian, begin to praise Jesus Christ now. You need not be afraid that you will be too extravagant in the praise youbestow upon Him, for when your hair begins to be white with the sunlight of Heaven gleaming on it, you will find that younever said enough about Him. Let the hoary-headed patriarch speak. Now he comes near his end. He totters and stoops and liftshis eyes to Heaven, and says, "Praise Christ too much? I thought Him lovely when I first knew Him. I knew Him to be lovelya little afterwards, when He helped me along, and I lived to prove that He was most lovely. But now I have got still furtherand I can say, 'He is altogether lovely, and there is none to be compared with Him.' I thought at first that each sweet mercydemanded a fresh song and I did, sometimes, feel a glow of devotion to Him. I then thought I must praise Him more and dedicatemyself more to His service. But now," he says, "could I give my body to be burned for Jesus, I feel that He deserves it! Hislove in times past, His manifold helpings, His continual unchangeableness render me devoted to Him forever." And, like theservant of whom we spoke on Monday night, the old Christian feels that he is ready to have his ear bored to the doorpost forever!He never wants to go away.
I have said this because many persons nowadays say, "Ah, So-and-So is young-he'll be sobered down, by-and-by." I am sure,Beloved, it is a great pity if he should be. There are very few people in the present day who need much sobering with regardto religion. There is not so much fear of religious enthusiasm as there is of religious torpor and sleep. I should like tosee a few enthusiastic Christians-"not drunk with wine, wherein is excess-but filled with the Spirit." But what do men say?Why, "the man has got no moderation-he is mad!" A person, passing by here the other day, said to another, "You know who preachesthere, don't you?" "No, I do not." "Why, everybody knows that fellow! Everybody goes to hear him, but, you know, he's rathertouched in the brain." "Yes," said a friend of mine, "and I'll tell you another little thing, by way of a secret-he's rathertouched in the heart, too-and that's better still." Well, Beloved, we do not mind what they say about our being "touched inthe brain." We believe it is well to be "touched in the heart" too! We may be mad, but it is a sweet madness, it is a blesseddelusion, it is a most excellent "touch." And we only pray that the Master may touch us all. "Touched in the brain!" Ah, wehave precious need to be in these days, for the brains are wrong enough originally! "Touched in the brain!" Most decidedlywe require it, for most men's brains are very far from what they should be. "Touched in the brain!" May God "touch" everyman's brain and every man's heart! And the more we are touched of God, whether it is touched in the brain, or touched in thehand, or touched in the purse, or touched anywhere, it is always good so long as we are touched of God!
You know it was objected against David that he must not go and fight Goliath because his brother said he had come to see thebattle in the pride of his heart. He did not stop to give an answer. The best answer he could give was to go and cut Goliath'shead off and bring it back in triumph! So, many of you who are young in years and full of zeal, are advised not to do thisand that and the other. Do not mind what they say! Go forth in the name of your God and you shall do great exploits. If thegreat and trained veterans are afraid of the battle, then raw and inexperienced recruits must stand in the forefront. Whileit is written, "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings have You ordained strength," let it be known and proclaimed, let itbe thundered forth from the skies and let earth re-echo the sound that Christ must and shall be praised! If one class of ministerswill not do it, another shall! What the learned will not do, the ignorant must! What the polite and refined cannot do, therough and untutored must, for, verily, it must and shall be done! If those who stand up with all their boasted prestige amongmen cannot exalt Christ, He will raise up humble but devoted followers and by the weak things of the world, confound the mighty!Of old He raised up a shepherd to be a king, a herdsman to be a Prophet and a fisherman to be an Apostle! Those who dishonorHim shall be lightly esteemed-but those who honor Him, He will honor! Go, Christian, and exalt Christ! Love Him and exaltHim! Love your Master, talk about your Master, preach of your Master and, by the help of the Spirit, you shall yet come offmore glorious than your foes, if not here, yet in that day "when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admiredin all them that believe."